Posted October 28, 200519 yr WASHINGTON - Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, I. Lewis ?Scooter? Libby, was indicted Friday on five charges that include obstruction of justice, making false statements and perjury in the investigation into the leak of a covert CIA agent?s name. Moments after the indictment was announced, the White House said that Libby had resigned. The five-count indictment accuses Libby of lying about how and when he learned about CIA official Valerie Plane's identity in 2003 and then told reporters about it. The information was classified. ?The charges allege that Libby lied to FBI agents who interviewed him on October 14 and November 26, 2003; committed perjury while testifying under oath before the grand jury on March 5 and March 24, 2004; and engaged in obstruction of justice by impeding the grand jury?s investigation,? prosecutors said in a news release. The grand jury indictment could trigger a shake-up at the White House, already on the defensive over the response to Hurricane Katrina, opposition to the Iraq war and the withdrawal of President Bush?s nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court, Harriet Miers. Details were to be outlined at 2:15 p.m. ET, when Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald was to hold a news conference at the Justice Department. The grand jury that handed up the indictment had been hearing the case for nearly two years and its term expired Friday. Prosecutors said that Libby, if found guilty on all charges, faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison and a $1.25 million fine. In each of the counts, the basic allegation against Libby is that he lied about his conversations with reporters. He is not accused of purposely revealing the identify of a spy, the potential charge that Fitzgerald was initially appointed to investigate. Fitzgerald and his investigators have been trying to determine whether Libby or any other administration officials knowingly revealed the identity of Plame or lied about their involvement to investigators. Her husband is diplomat Joseph Wilson, an opponent of the Iraq war who challenged Bush?s assertion that Saddam Hussein was trying to secure nuclear materials. In a statement, the vice president described Libby as ?one of the most capable and talented individuals I have ever known.? ?In our system of government an accused person is presumed innocent until a contrary finding is made by a jury after an opportunity to answer the charges and a full airing of the facts. Mr. Libby is entitled to that opportunity,? Cheney said. Libby is considered Cheney?s alter ego, a chief architect of the war with Iraq. Any trial of Libby would give the public a rare glimpse into Cheney?s influential role in the West Wing and his behind-the-scenes lobbying for war. Though he has worked in relative obscurity, Libby is one of the administration?s influential advisers because of his proximity to Cheney, one of the most powerful vice presidents in history. The leak case has put a spotlight on the sometimes aggressive tactics the White House uses to counter critics of the Iraq war. It has also focused attention on the administration?s shifting justifications for the 2003 invasion, from the threat of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction ? which were never found ? to a need to spread democracy. The article goes on to say that the procecuter has not yet filed any charges against Karl Rove or anyone else as of yet.
October 29, 200519 yr Rove is still under suspicion and could be charged down the road. I remember Wilson once saying he was told that Libby was the one responsible. So at least some justice is finally being done. Its also good to see some justice done against someone who decided that anyone critical of the war should be retaliated against. This could also grow. Libby wasn't indicted specifically for the leak, but special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald left little doubt that he believed Cheney's top aide learned Valerie Plame's classified identity from the CIA, State Department and his own boss and then revealed it to reporters. "It's important that a CIA officer's identity be protected, that it be protected not just for the officer, but for the nation's security," the prosecutor said. "Mr. Libby was the first official known to have told a reporter." Fitzgerald's investigation is nearing an end, and the grand jury he used for the past two years expired Friday. But he said, "It's not over," declining to address Rove's fate. The prosecutor is still weighing whether to charge Bush's closest adviser with false statements, lawyers said. Friday's charges stemmed from a two-year investigation into whether Rove, Libby or any other administration officials knowingly revealed Plame's identity in summer 2003 to punish her husband, Joseph Wilson, for his criticism of the Bush administration's use of prewar intelligence on Iraq. In the end, like so many other Washington scandals, prosecutors zeroed in on an alleged cover-up. Libby, 55, was charged with five felonies alleging obstruction of justice, perjury to a grand jury and making false statements to FBI agents. If convicted, he could face a maximum of 30 years in prison and $1.25 million in fines. .... Fitzgerald suggested that proving Libby lied to the grand jury would be an easier case to make than showing he intentionally revealed a secret officer's cover. Specifically, the prosecutors alleged that Libby concocted a false story that he got Plame's name from reporters and passed it on to others when in fact he got the information from classified sources. "Mr. Libby's story that he was at the tail end of a chain of phone calls, passing on from one reporter what he heard from another, was not true. It was false," the prosecutor said. "And he lied about it afterward, under oath, repeatedly." .... Fitzgerald has been looking for weeks at whether Rove gave false testimony during his four grand jury appearances. Rove's lawyer recently waged a furious effort to convince the prosecutor that any misstatements were unintentional or were corrected. "The special counsel has advised Mr. Rove that he has made no decision about whether or not to bring charges," attorney Robert Luskin said. "We are confident that when the special counsel finishes his work, he will conclude that Mr. Rove has done nothing wrong." Prosecutors identified Rove in the Libby indictment only as "Official A," recounting a conversation he had with Libby about Plame and Wilson in the days just before the CIA operative's identity was revealed. The mention could make Rove a witness at any Libby trial. Libby's indictment paves the way for a trial that could renew attention on the faulty rationale the administration used for going to war against Iraq ? the erroneous assertion that Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction. Libby is considered Cheney's alter ego, a chief architect of the war with Iraq. A trial would give the public a rare glimpse into Cheney's influential role in the West Wing and his behind-the-scenes lobbying for the war. The vice president, who prizes secrecy, could be called as a witness. .... http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/cia_leak_invest...HNlYwMlJVRPUCUl
October 29, 200519 yr Author I find it interesting that only one person besides me has commented on this story, which is pretty big news.
October 29, 200519 yr I find it interesting that only one person besides me has commented on this story, which is pretty big news. The biggest thing about it to me is the chilling thought that someone pointed out to me: "There was a grown man walking around in the White House named Scooter??"
October 30, 200519 yr Author I find it interesting that only one person besides me has commented on this story, which is pretty big news. The biggest thing about it to me is the chilling thought that someone pointed out to me: "There was a grown man walking around in the White House named Scooter??" It's pretty strange, I know....
October 30, 200519 yr I find it interesting that only one person besides me has commented on this story, which is pretty big news. The biggest thing about it to me is the chilling thought that someone pointed out to me: "There was a grown man walking around in the White House named Scooter??" It's pretty strange, I know.... Nicknames are strange now?
October 31, 200519 yr No, but why did it have to be Scooter? I believe it had something to do Phil Rizzuto.
October 31, 200519 yr So far so good. I hated being without power the past few days, wanted to get hear all the reactions to this. ---- I was amused by some local radio shmuck talking about how the "dems" struck out trying to find something to prosecute on the whole Plame case & wound up falling back on this weak contrived issue or something or other... Well when you lie to a grand jury and obstruct justice (if that's the case) it's virtually impossible to get to the bottom of the questions you're trying to answer, so that's what you have to go after. I don't think Libby will be the only one taking the fall here when it's all over.
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